The present invention relates to musical devices and, more particularly, to a saxophone neck system.
Saxophones utilize neckpieces to form the interface between the reed-carrying mouthpiece and the body of the saxophone. Current saxophone necks are formed as a single assembly, with no configurable or interchangeable components. This is disadvantageous to the player, as the specific neck configuration of a saxophone often has a significant effect on the playing and/or sonic characteristics of the instrument. These effects are due to the configuration of the neck, including the size and configuration of the various tapers of the internal bore within the neck. Even if a player finds a neck that provides the characteristics she wants, that neck will often not always be compatible with saxophones from another manufacturer. Additionally, even on a single instrument, if the player were to want different characteristics for different playing environments, for example solo playing as opposed to jazz playing, the player may often need to find a different neck to use. Saxophone players are all too familiar with the trial-and-error method of purchasing and fitting traditional one-piece necks to their instruments while searching for a particular set of playing and sound qualities. Typically, saxophone players may find a one-piece neck that plays well enough and learn to like it.
As can be seen, there is a need for a saxophone neck that allows the player the ability to change components to achieve variations in sound and to use the components with various manufacturers' instruments and mouthpieces.